should a fuel pressure regulator hold vacuum?
 

I apply 25-30 PSI vacuum via hand pump to the fpr and it very quickly resets to 0 PSI. Is this normal or should it hold a steady vacuum?

needs to hold vacuum

I bet this explains a lot. 14mpg. Wet plugs. Lumpy idle. Any chance someone has a know good SE unit? 84-88 is all the same right? Guess Ill start a wanted thread.

Rockauto has em: More Information for STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS PR29

Well there was either a leak in the hard line or a leak in the pressure solenoid because I connected a vacuum line from the FPR straight to the dynamic chamber and problem solved. I re-tuned the idle and took it for a 5-6 mile drive. Drove perfectly and no more wet plugs and steamy exhaust. Hopefully the 14 MPG issue is resolved as well. Basically how it was before the fix is 1) a vacuum leak at the dynamic chamber, and 2) no FPR. No good. It even sounds better rolling through the gears too. I had to turn the variable resister about 2mm towards L.

Glad you got it sorted out!